When I tried charging at the hotel, this is what happened

[Missile Toad]

Pick up to 3 most frequent occurrences for you:

 

[chipmunk]

Need an option for ICEd. LAX Airport Marriott

 

[Missile Toad]

Yeah, I hear ya. The thing is, I'm trying to figure out, how we interact between EVs that reached the hotel early and took all the stalls, and those who show up later. -- the phenomena of ICEing will be extinguished in about 20-25 years when ICE cars decline and better laws/signs are around. The long term issue is going to be how well do we EV drivers share, and how the early adopters might serve as good examples to the teaming masses that are on a long waitlist to play in our playground.

Pay it forward.

 

[chipmunk]

Yeah, I hear ya. The thing is, I'm trying to figure out, how we interact between EVs that reached the hotel early and took all the stalls, and those who show up later. -- the phenomena of ICEing will be extinguished in about 20-25 years when ICE cars decline and better laws/signs are around. The long term issue is going to be how well do we EV drivers share, and how the early adopters might serve as good examples to the teaming masses that are on a long waitlist to play in our playground.

Pay it forward.

In that case, I'd think something like this plackard. We need a modification for Tesla chargers though to text us so we can unlock the plug.

 

[JHWJR]

I called ahead about a week to make sure it worked. i was told that it did and was given instructions on where to find it.

I arrived at my hotel at 1:00 a.m. and found the destination right where they said it would be. I plugged in and got about 32 miles/hour of charge. It was full in the morning. Same experience the following night.

The owner of the hotel -- whom I met at breakfast -- said that the get maybe 4 Tesla's a year, but they see that picking up. They were pleasant. The hotel was the only charging space for many, many, many miles around. And I'd like to give them a friendly bump:

Adobe Naubinway Hotel
Naubinway Michigan (Upper Penninsula)

Nice folks.

 

[R0b_]

ICE'd. Every dang time. I'm no road warrior so the sample size is small... but the charger slots might as well have just been parking spots, because that's how they are treated.
I had enough charge to get me to the supercharger so I managed just fine, but it would have been nice to skip that 50min charge the next morning!

 

[neverdone]

A variety of experiences:
* Mandalay Bay Las Vegas; valet; fully charged in the morning
* Platinum Hotel, Las Vegas; valet; fully charged; best valet service we have ever had
* Grand View Hotel, Grand Junction CO; we were the only Tesla charging; a little sketchy area; will not be back
* Peppermill Hotel Reno; valet; did not charge the car; said they did but the must not have pressed the cable fully; no big deal since we just had breakfast down the street at the Atlantis where there was a supercharger.
* Hampton Inn Dallas; we were staying at another hotel but called and asked if we could charge overnight; I am pretty sure they did not know what I was talking about.
* Sweet Basilica Restaurant in Estes Park CO; good charging; 3 chargers; just once have seen another Tesla charging there.
* used evgo in Dallas at a city library; very very slow charging; but at least 3 charger spaces.
[never iced]

 

[Missile Toad]

So, one of the main reasons I set up this poll, is I would like to be sure not to fall in to the #5 category, which I 'typo'd. I meant to say:
I went to a NEMA 5-20 and got a slow-poke charge when main chargers were unavailable.
My sense about how to avoid that happening is to try to check in as early as possible, preferably before dinner time (and before ICEing). From the looks of the poll, so far, this is generally not an issue. Nevertheless, I'm intending to inform my hotel of my intention of using the J1772 or Tesla chargers at least on the day I'm arriving.

 

[sdorn]

Best way to ensure you will be able to charge, rent an AirB&B or other vacation rental with a dedicated EV charger or accessible 240v outlet verified with host prior to booking. Not a condo or apartment either, an actual free standing home. Shouldn't be any chance of ICEing or another EV taking the charger. Plus you get the benefit of staying in a much larger and nicer place without having to deal with anyone that works at a hotel, and usually the price is the same or better than a mid-range hotel like a Marriott or Hilton.

 

[EVie'sDad]

Best way to ensure you will be able to charge, rent an AirB&B or other vacation rental with a dedicated EV charger or accessible 240v outlet verified with host prior to booking. Not a condo or apartment either, an actual free standing home. Shouldn't be any chance of ICEing or another EV taking the charger. Plus you get the benefit of staying in a much larger and nicer place without having to deal with anyone that works at a hotel, and usually the price is the same or better than a mid-range hotel like a Marriott or Hilton.

Or go on the Tesla website and look up under Destination Chargers, this was a great idea and we spent five days in northern Lake Tahoe without ever really needing to rely on the Supercharger network except on the way to and from home. We circled the lake at least two or three times, and every night the car was refilled in less than 3 to 5 hours. Dedicated parking with a Tesla HPWC for our entire vacation, sweet! Great lodging as well.

 

[sdorn]

Or go on the Tesla website and look up under Destination Chargers, this was a great idea and we spent five days in northern Lake Tahoe without ever really needing to rely on the Supercharger network except on the way to and from home. We circled the lake at least two or three times, and every night the car was refilled in less than 3 to 5 hours. Dedicated parking with a Tesla HPWC for our entire vacation, sweet! Great lodging as well.

View attachment 240215

You can still get ICE'd or have another Tesla using the charger at locations with Tesla destination chargers. Not really any different than any other EV charger in that regard. Go on Plugshare and read some of the reviews of the bigger chain hotels that have Tesla destination chargers and you'll see it is pretty common for them to be ICE'd or full with other Teslas.

 

[Missile Toad]

Looking at the poll, so far, there seems to be very minimal contention between early-arriving EVs and later check-in EVs -- since the overwhelming numbers show charging takes place without seeing any other EVs at the hotel. Nevertheless, I see that its about a 50/50 mix when there is contention/congestion ... where about half the time the EV owners get in touch with each other and work out a swap at some point, so the latecomer has a chance. This encourages me to always put my contact details out either in Plugshare or on the dashboard, visible to passers by.

Of course, I'm assuming that the respondents are typical EVs in typical situations... and although I didn't specify U.S. only reports, I'm assuming that non-U.S. countries are experiencing similar patterns. Good comment (above) on the B&B approach. Seems sensible.

 

[Missile Toad]

OK, so I have dual chargers in my MS 70D. I was recently frustrated by visiting a hotel/shopping garage, that was Tesla DB listed as a destination charger with "up to 16kW" charging. I actually discovered, that of the three WC, two delivered at 40A (more like 10kW), and a third (of 3) was on-again, off-again working (nothing near 80A). I knew another parking garage was newly listed in PlugShare just a few hundred yards away -- one of these, purporting to be 80A. After trying all 4 chargers, only one was delivering 80A.

This got me doing a quick sample of the Tesla DB that alleged better than "up to 13kW", and what the comments in PlugShare were. It turns out, that my sample, of 20-30 Texas-only sites, shows only about 73% of these higher amperage destination chargers (hotels, restaurants, garages) as living up to the Tesla's vague warranty of "up to __kW".

Can anyone tell me if this is representative of other parts of the country (note, some of the chargers were reported, recently, as not working at all)?

 

[JasJ]

ICE'd. Every dang time. I'm no road warrior so the sample size is small... but the charger slots might as well have just been parking spots, because that's how they are treated.
I had enough charge to get me to the supercharger so I managed just fine, but it would have been nice to skip that 50min charge the next morning!

I call ahead to the hotel and often the manager will cone off (or block with their car) the EV spot and protect from ICE'ing. Worked well on a road trip from Houston to Orlando and back.

 

[arg]

OK, so I have dual chargers in my MS 70D. I was recently frustrated by visiting a hotel/shopping garage, that was Tesla DB listed as a destination charger with "up to 16kW" charging. I actually discovered, that of the three WC, two delivered at 40A (more like 10kW), and a third (of 3) was on-again, off-again working (nothing near 80A). I knew another parking garage was newly listed in PlugShare just a few hundred yards away -- one of these, purporting to be 80A. After trying all 4 chargers, only one was delivering 80A.

Were there other cars using the other chargepoints?

My understanding of Tesla destination charging is when they say "2 tesla connectors, up to 16kW" that means there's a 16kW supply shared between the two connectors, so you will only get 16kW if you are the only car there (or if the other has already finished charging).

 

[boaterva]

We stayed at a B&B on the Eastern Shore of Maryland this summer (Sandaway/Oxford), which is on the Destination Charger list (has an HPWC and a 1772 charger). They had the brains (or the power feed made them do it! ) to put them where no one normally parks. Didn't have a Tesla then, but going back next year and will definitely use the HPWC then. Wanted to mention as one of the better installations where you can't get ICE'd out. I've seen many of the pics where they use a normal parking spot and it's all too easy to have it taken away.

 

[kort677]

Were there other cars using the other chargepoints?

My understanding of Tesla destination charging is when they say "2 tesla connectors, up to 16kW" that means there's a 16kW supply shared between the two connectors, so you will only get 16kW if you are the only car there (or if the other has already finished charging).

could you please provide the source of that theory? I believe it to be very misinformed

 

[KarenRei]

ICE'd. Every dang time. I'm no road warrior so the sample size is small... but the charger slots might as well have just been parking spots, because that's how they are treated.
I had enough charge to get me to the supercharger so I managed just fine, but it would have been nice to skip that 50min charge the next morning!

Maybe you should carry around a set of these

I think the owner finding their car in a different location with an angry note on it would be a nice, not-so-subtle hint.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

could you please provide the source of that theory? I believe it to be very misinformed

Newer HPWCs have offered power-sharing for a while now. It's a primary-secondary set-up.

 

[kort677]

Newer HPWCs have offered power-sharing for a while now. It's a primary-secondary set-up.

ok, I wasn't up on this latest change.